The Tale Of The Fallen Sakura (NEW VERSION)
by toshimi-senpai
Summary: Sanosuke Harada had brought his wife back home to his village, Ishigaki. He then settled down as the Village Chief, succeeding his father. Little did he know that his mysterious wife played an important role in the early production of Ochimizu long, long ago. And that his life and hers was intertwined in this life for a reason; cursed love.
1. The Drenched Blade

Title: The Tale of The Fallen Sakura 2.0

Synopsis: Sanosuke Harada had brought his wife back home to his village, Ishigaki. He then settled down as the Village Chief, succeeding his father. Little did he know that his mysterious wife played an important role in the early production of Ochimizu long, long ago. And that his life and hers was intertwined in this life for a reason; cursed love.

Disclaimer: The author never own Hakuoki except for the OC and the plot.

* * *

(Few months before their encounter with Chizuru)

Screams of agony hovered over the black clouded night. The townspeople were running away from the flame gulping their homes. The bright color of the flame floodlight the dark night, yielding a heavy large of black thick smoke into the air.

At the very center of the aflame province, few men armed with swords on their waist and one who wield a spear in his hand had gathered for a breakneck meeting. "Save as many people as you can. We will meet back again at the temple by the river at the morning." Kondou, the Commander of the lordless samurai ordered his men to help the villagers that were still trap in the burning houses. They nodded in assent before scattered away throughout the blazing province. Toshimi quickly approached one of the collapsing house to lend a hand, but then a sudden occurrence inside her head made her stop. Without a second thought, she turned back and make haste for their burning compound.

Sanosuke whirled to her direction when he caught her running back to their aflame residence. "Toshi-" But his scream was thwarted when he heard an old woman crying for help near him. He rushed for her aid and carried the old woman to the safe place.  
By the time he was done, to his panic, she was no longer there, even her tracks were heavily covered with layers of black ashes.

* * *

The morning ray striked upon them on the yard of the temple, despite the serene atmosphere of the holy place, the hustle and bustle of the injured had not ceased since last night.

In the middle of the chaos, Hijikata Toshizou was searching for someone among the human flood, his moves frantic as if desperate. Angry.

"Where the hell is Toshimi?!" His voice thundered, clearly disturbing the people resting on the hallway.

One of his young captains, Heisuke, stepped out from the crowd, looking as worried as his Vice-Commander.

"Sano-san said he will be back to fetch her." He said, feeling increasingly nervous as the older man glared right back to him. "To fetch her? Where the hell is she?!"

Heisuke showed the direction Sanosuke went to, and it took no time at all for Hijikata to stormed off with big strides, followed by Heisuke after fetching his sword from nearby post.

* * *

Sanosuke stood there immobilized. His breath caught on his throat. Toshimi, their physician was standing with her back facing him. Her violet kimono turned a shade darker by the splash of blood staining the fabric.

His unbelieving eyes shifted to the trembling sword in her right hand extended to her side. The handle was dark and slippery, as if a flood of blood had deluged her from head to toes.

He ran to her, but before he did so, she spoke, her voice whistled in her throat, as if in pain. As if in deep sadness.

"You betrayed me."

"Toshimi. It's me." He tried to take the sword from her hand but to his surprise, she swinged it full force, nearly cutting him if not for his agile reflexes.

"Toshimi!" This time he don't hold back. He knocked the sword off her hand in one swift movement, and kicked it far away from them.

"You betrayed me..."

It was then he realized she wasn't the Toshimi he knew. Her eyes were looking straight at him, but there were no lights in them. Empty. And then there were tears coursing down her cheeks.

Her knees started to give away, like a marionette whose strings had just been cut, but he managed to caught her in time. The cold trickle of blood on his cheek forgotten as he hold her in his laps. He didn't even realize the hands holding her was shaking terribly that it shook her a little.

 _What the hell has happened here?_

He saw her breath shallow, as she was in no condition to talk right now. He gathered her in his arms but as he stood, something fall down onto the ground.

A scroll, and not even a fleck of blood had touched the paper as if she had defended it with her life.

He dashed off of the place, carrying her to safety with the scroll tightly gripped in one hand.

* * *

"Matsumoto-sensei! Please treat her immediately!" Sanosuke's white kataginu was stained heavily with blood from the limp body in his arms as he called the doctor from outside of his door.

"What's wrong-" The old physician opened the door. His face froze for a while seeing their state but he welcomed them all the same, quickly laying a mattress as he instructed him to put her down, carefully. "Wait, is this.. Toshimi?" The shock in him returned yet intensified. She was one of his disciple whom graduated in young age.

He made no delay of inspecting the pulse on her wrist. Weak pulse. The furrowed on his old face deepened. In turn, Sanosuke couldn't stop himself from asking questions while running his hand messily in his hair, which the doctor didn't have the answers himself. Matsumoto tore her outer garment, revealing her inner clothes stained with blood. He tugged open the hem of her last dress, stopping its way just above her chest just to find a deep wound on her left shoulder. He used a white, thick fabric to stop the flow of the blood but unfortunately it failed to tend her. The ball of fabric has dyed in deep red in no time at all.

Just then the sliding door threw open so wildly that it jumped. There stood Hijikata with his eyes wide before he immediately stepped in and sat on her other side.

"She has lost enough blood and she couldn't afford to lose more. Please hold her tight, I need to cauterize the wound." He explained her current situation as briefly and calmly despite Hijikata's pale profile.

As soon as the hot metal rod touched her wound, the small consciousness in her had her whimpered, weakly, trying to evade from the torturing hot rod that was searing her damaged tissues but to no avail. Both her hands were held tight by strong hands, keeping her in place.

"Toshimi, hang in there!"

"Don't let her fall asleep! Keep talking to her."

"*Imouto, look at me!"

"Her pulse's getting weaker!"

The voices of the men hovered in the metallic scent atmosphere, trying their best to encourage her in the only way they can. The fate began to spin against her, unfortunately placing her in the worst of situation; her eyes became blurry, the exclaims from the men gradually dissipating from her reach.

Not when the desperate face of that one man whom had always secretly looking at her when she was not, how she hope she would return that gaze for once, and say that she likes him too.

End of chapter 1

*imouto-little sister

AN: Due to a certain request, I've decided to rewrite this story and the old version has thus been deleted. Do review! Thanks!


	2. The Uninvited Guest

"This place is not for her. I'll have her to go back to Edo as soon as she recover." Hijikata had his arms crossed over his chest as he contemplated her sleeping face. The other member of Roshigumi (later Shinsengumi) sat at the outside of the room as they listened to their leader. Souji leaned on the wall of the room with his back facing the night cold air. Kondou and Sannan both were absent in the moment.

The captains swallowed painfully the bitter declaration from the Vice-Commander, each chose to dissolved themselves in remorse of what had happen. Heisuke looked over to the unusually silent of the fellow captains. He cannot say he knew what did they felt, especially Sanosuke, who was the most quiet since the incident took place.

He started to wonder whether it was the right decision to let her go back to Edo, but he knew enough he's not one to talk. Because he too, had shouldered the guilt of letting her back to the blazing compound, because in that very night she had told him she left something very important in her burning room.

"Something very important I'd rather die for to protect it." She said but he had pulled her away from the fire nonetheless to escape the burning compound.

He took a deep breath, and realized it's a fly or fight moment. With intake of breath, he entered the room, looking resolved.

"But Hijikata-san, she is our medical physician, isn't she?" Yet Hijikata remained quiet, but he replied few moments later.

"No. She wouldn't stay here any longer. We will take in Matsumoto-sensei as our new medical doctor."

"But-"

"I'm the one doing the decision here." He shot him his sharp glance thus stopping the younger man's words.

At the outside of the room, Shinpachi turned to Sanosuke direction as he jumped down the hallway, heading to the next annex of the temple they temporarily stayed in.

"Oi, Sano. Where are you going?"

He didn't reply. His feet keep on carrying him further away from them, yet, the low murmur still able to reach him.

"Somewhere."

With a sigh, Shinpachi let go of his friend, knowing what is troubling him at the moment and let him alone for now may be the best.

Sanosuke kicked the pebble with his foot, watching it entered the pond with a plop sound. Yet, despite the serenity of the delicate ripple forming on the water, his thought was in jumble mess.

He knew he was responsible for her injuries, and he shouldn't let her go back to their burnt compound. He knew he should be with her to protect her from those rogue samurai. As expected, the fire was their doing as to show their protest and hatred against the Roshigumi but the fire had spread so fast to the villagers' house.

 _You betrayed me..._

He didn't get it on that night. Of what had made her said so, or why did she looked so, very sad.

Above all, to think that she will be send back home with those permanent hideous scar on her skin is enough to make his jaw clenched, his knuckles white. He thought carefully of his next action, one that will ensure her safety, and her alone.

Fireflies flew beautifully before him, each twinkling its lights in pairs, lighting the darkness of the night though a little.

A placate smile arched on his handsome face, answer finally found him.

* * *

A week later

"Toshimi, can I come in?"

She quickly lifted her kimono to cover the bandage around her shoulder and took the sash on the floor with her right hand to tie it up on her white creamy kimono.

"P-please wait a minute!" She was having hard time tying the obi as her left hand was left hanging on her side supported by the bandage and she could hardly move it.

"Do you need any help?" The male voice echoed again from the outside. She could see the owner of the voice's hand was at the handle of the sliding door. She quickly turned away from the door, heat rising on her face.

"No. I'm fine." Yet she knew she needed some help and she knew he would eventually come in. The sash suddenly slipped off from her helpless hand and fall to the floor.

The door slid open.

She dared not to face him, even as his footsteps stopped somewhere behind her. She could feel her heartbeats in her ears, threatened to burst out, until she saw the hand with the red gear retrieved the sash from the floor.

"Like I said before, I'll always be by your side... just like in the vow just now." She completely froze as his voice whispered on her reddened ear.

His hands lingered around her waist with the sash in his hands. The large, manly hands were trying its best to tie the sash, the movements unpracticed but neat however, as he tidied each fold to its place.

Seeing her still remained quiet, he turned her around but her gaze lowered just the same on the floor. He thumbed her chin, gently, lifting her eyes to his. The uncertain violet eyes shyly met the amber ones through fluttered eyelashes.

"Beautiful." He breathed out, looking transfixed by the sight of his bride, but her immediate reaction wasn't expected at all; she pushed his chest so hard it had him stumbled a little, and she quickly crouched down and hid her face away.

"Don't look at me!"

"Toshimi?" He recovered from the push but slightly surprised by her reaction.

"You..just making fun of me aren't you?" She said through peeking eyes, looking wary, but he swear he never saw something as cute as her on that moment.

"I will never make fun of you in that regard. You are beautiful, Toshimi."

"But Toshi Nii-san said I look like a... potato, with all this makeup on." She said earnestly, sounded sad. Sanosuke however burst into a fit of laughter, making her look more sullen.

"Well, that's because he didn't want his little sister to be married off to a man so soon." He said, still recovering from the laugh, and pulled her to her feet, taking her small hands into his larger ones.

"I know this is so sudden," he spoke, looking serious, taking her breath away, "but I did this because I wanted to. For a very long time now. I've always wanted you."

"Me too." She said, replying with a grasp of her own around his hand though tentatively. Sanosuke was so happy by her confession, she could tell, as he nuzzled closer until their foreheads and noses touched, reveling in the moment.

"Ehem."

They instantly pulled away, faces bleached bright red as Hijikata interrupted the moment, looking not exactly happy but then pressed a smile to both of them.

"Let's go now, Toshimi, Harada."

On their way out, naughty whistles from their friends only made the grasp on her hand even tighter. She looked upon them, admiring how his hand looked so rough and big, but his touch is none less gentle.

"I'm happy for you, Toshimi-chan."

"Sano-san, you'd better take care of Toshimi for us!"

Wishes and cheers from them filled the air, filling her with happiness though bashfully. But the feeling was soon interjected by something else; a cold wind from the West followed by the ringing of the wind chime hanging from the eaves.

Her pace stopped.

Somehow the fearsome chill when she was attacked that night returned. It wasn't her who had fought the rogue samurai. It was a man with long hair fighting them with a small, strange weapon. He only pulled the trigger and they immediately fell down, one by one. She couldn't do anything before the man approached him, completely terrified, and he said about this and that, which doesn't really make sense to her before he picked up a nearby sword and thrust it straight to her shoulder, causing her the injuries she had now.

"Toshimi. What's wrong? Toshimi?" Sanosuke called her name repeatedly. That empty look on her face terrified him so. He then embraced her, tightly, calling her name again and again, hoping she'd come to. At the same time, the worried captains hurriedly crowded them.

Far at one roof of the temple, he stood there with watching eyes. His lips pulled into a lopsided smile.

"It's almost time."

 **End of chapter 2**


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